Citizen first, partisan second

Many people are probably aware of the political contributions my family made to Republican candidates during this past election cycle. While there are certainly misperceptions around why we provided such support, let me be clear about one thing: I have never been confused about my real responsibility as an American.

I’m a citizen first and a partisan second.

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As the son of immigrants who came to this country in search of freedom, I will never hesitate to take a stand for that which is in the best interests of America.

That is why I am urging the Congress and President Obama to reach a solution to the impending fiscal cliff crisis. In particular, the House of Representatives – which on Thursday refused to act on a proposal put forth by House leadership – should return to Washington during the holidays to finish the peoples’ business.

No reasonable person disputes what is at stake. If Washington fails to resolve this, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the policies scheduled to go into effect would cut gross domestic product by 4 percentage points in 2013, sending the economy into a recession with substantial job losses.

The rest of the world stands to suffer, too. A recent report, for example, by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific claims that, if the U.S. does not adequately handle the fiscal cliff, Asia-Pacific economies could slow “by up to 2.2 percentage points in 2013, with exporting economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia being most hit.”

As the CEO of a company with considerable investment in the United States and overseas, I obviously don’t relish the impact of a global slowdown on our more than 50,000 employees. Other business leaders have told me they feel the same about their people.

For the well-being of workers at home and abroad, President Obama and Congress must tackle the difficult job of avoiding the fiscal cliff. That means compromising on some combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

Ahead of such a bargain being reached we are hearing from noisy partisans on both sides that will continue to complain, threaten, and scare.

Some of these partisans were directly responsible for the House’s failure to act – a failure that has for the moment created chaos in the markets and the inside-the-Beltway negotiating process.

Now is the time for us all to push away from the extremes and find common ground.